


Further negotiation

by Lokomotiv



Series: Touch [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 17:07:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11490840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokomotiv/pseuds/Lokomotiv
Summary: Then Joaquin makes it weird. He's always been a touchy-feely guy, hugging everybody goodbye already the first time Kevin brought him along, but suddenly, it seems like he's always touching Jughead.





	Further negotiation

**Author's Note:**

> Not canon-compliant in terms of how Joaquin is introduced to the gang, but the basic idea of this story was already in place before I watched that episode, so… you know how it is.

Things get a little awkward when it turns out the guy Joaquin is dating is actually Kevin, but it’s not too bad. Jughead figures the routine they are doing is kind of the same that they would have done if they'd just recognized each other from the Serpents’ hangouts; they don't exactly pretend they don't know each other, but they don't really acknowledge it either. Nobody seems to notice anything weird, and Jughead doubts any of the others have even entertained the thought that they might already know each other. Joaquin starts tagging along more and more when they hang out, and after a while it feels kind of normal, and any familiarity between them can be attributed to the fact that they've all hung out together.

Then Joaquin makes it weird. He's always been a touchy-feely guy, hugging everybody goodbye already the first time Kevin brought him along, even Jughead, which is unusual (people tend to interpret his stand-offish attitude as _hugs not welcome_ ). But suddenly, it seems like he's _always_ touching Jughead. His thigh pressed against Jughead's in the booth at Pop's, or a hand on the back of Jughead's neck as they watch some stupid movie at Kevin's place. That is the longest lasting skin-on-skin contact Jughead has had since their arrangement ended, and he sits through the rest of the movie, muscles tense and heart pounding, waiting for the other boy to withdraw his hand and sort of wishing that he doesn't. He's lucky it's such a shitty movie that nobody expects him to have anything to say about it afterwards, because he cannot for the life of him remember what it was about.

After a few times like that, Jughead makes sure that he and Joaquin are briefly left alone at a table while the others are at the counter ordering food.

"What are you doing?" he hisses, glaring at Joaquin through narrowed eyes.

"I figured it out, finally."

“What? What did you 'figure out'?"

"What you got out of it. And then I realized, there's really no reason I can't keep doing it."

"Yeah? What does hour boyfriend say about that, huh?"

"He doesn't mind."

"Really."

"Really. It's not like it's got anything to do with sex anymore. It never did, for you, did it?"

Jughead doesn't reply.

"You didn't have to- I mean, you could've asked. For what you needed. You didn't have to let me fuck you just to…"

Jughead pointedly turns away. He feels his face heat, because this is exactly the reason he couldn’t ask; it _burns_  to know that he basically needed to prostitute himself to get someone to touch him, and to have someone else realize it? That’s humiliation on borderline unbearable levels, and also the forced acknowledgement of a vague fear along the lines of _what kind of a horrible person is he, that nobody would touch him voluntarily?_  Joaquin’s hand on his arm startles him enough to snap his eyes back. The pity (disgust) that he expects is not there in the other boy’s face, just honest compassion and a smile that’s sad around the edges.

“So it’s okay if I keep it up?"

“It’s not like I can stop you,” Jughead mutters, voice tight, but that’s a lie, of course it is, and they both know it.

Jughead is fully prepared for Joaquin to withdraw in response to his snark, but the other boy’s smile just brightens. He places an arm over Jughead’s shoulders and pulls him close, laughing quietly as Jughead gives the obligatory grumble but otherwise compliantly lets himself be held. When the others return with the food, the two of them get a few strange looks, but before Jughead has time to panic or pull away, Joaquin just says

“What? Jughead and I have decided to be platonic cuddle buddies. That’s not gonna be a problem, is it?”

There’s gentle teasing in his voice, but under that also a certainty that makes Jughead relax a little. The way that the others just shrug and move on to the next piece of gossip releases the rest of the tension from his body, and he practically sags against Joaquin’s side. He knows the others must think he’s acting strange, even with Joaquin’s explanation (of sorts), because they don’t know how familiar and safe the other boy’s touch is to him. But they’ve seen him accept hugs from Joaquin since they first met, which is also out of character for him. That, in combination with how tactile Joaquin is in general, will hopefully make them accept his acceptance of Joaquin’s touch without asking the questions he doesn’t want to answer.

Jughead also knows, of course, that this won’t last. Sooner or later Joaquin will get tired of him, or Kevin will get tired of Joaquin wasting his time on him. But until then, he figures he’ll make the most of their new arrangement. He snorts softly, muttering _cuddle buddies_ under his breath, and feels Joaquin’s arm around him tighten in a brief hug of acknowledgement. Suddenly very tired, and more relaxed than he actually knew he could be, Jughead lets his head come to rest on the other boy’s shoulder. He closes his eyes and listens to the conversation around him, feeling inexplicably but gloriously  _safe_  for the first time in longer than he cares to think about.


End file.
